BOURNEMOUTH 4 CITY 1 (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)
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BOURNEMOUTH 4 CITY 1
9:42pm Tuesday 17th March 2009 in Sport
By Simon Parker, Bradford City Reporter
Travel-sick City crashed to their third away defeat in a week and fifth on the trot.
They remain outside of the play-offs after another result that will leave huge question marks against their potential to finish in the top seven.
As the season reaches critical point, they have suffered their biggest slump.
Bournemouth needed only four minutes to go in front as warhorse striker Steve Fletcher was given time and space to slot home from ten yards.
Barry Conlon, in for the injured Peter Thorne, was denied by a fine save from Shwan Jalal. But City levelled after 24 minutes when Matt Clarke, like Conlon back from his disciplinary absence at the weekend, powered home Nicky Law's free-kick.
Brett Pitman thought he had restored Bournemouth's lead straight from a corner only to see it ruled out for an infringement.
But the Cherries struck twice in a couple of minutes just before half-time to take a firm grip on the game.
Mark Molesley fed Fletcher for his second goal and then Jeff Goulding cashed in on a horrible mix-up between Clarke and Graeme Lee to make it three.
And Goulding killed off any faint hopes of a City recovery six minutes after the break when he slammed home Bournemouth's fourth.
CITY: Evans, Arnison, Lee, Clarke, Rehman, Jones, Furman, Law, Brandon, Boulding, Conlon. Subs: McLaren, Bullock, Colbeck, O'Brien, Gillespie.
Comments(19)
boparob
says...
9:52pm Tue 17 Mar 09
rio8uk
says...
9:57pm Tue 17 Mar 09
9:20pm Tue 17 Mar 09
Listening to the match at the moment and it can only be discribed as an absulute shambles.Both Conlon and Clarke are a discrace.Never mind the antics off the pitch,Clarks not been firing on all cylinders all season,and Conlon hasnt a clue hes all arms and legs.Also how come we have Jacobs and Weathrall who were both defenders and yet we are very poor in defence.Answer Jacobs hasnt a clue iether.Im all for heros in football but these three are not showing any quality management.But im afraid we are stuck with them for the next three years.Every city fan did want them to do well but its not to be.You have to feel sorry for our fans who have traveled as i have done for the last few away games.Simon Parker got it wrong at Notts County,it was the City fans singing,(we want our money back)Best man on the pitch by far in games has been O'brian and what do they do,drop him at Bournmouth.MMMMMMMM Barry says use your head,shame the management dont do the same.Listening to the match at the moment and it can only be discribed as an absulute shambles.Both Conlon and Clarke are a discrace.Never mind the antics off the pitch,Clarks not been firing on all cylinders all season,and Conlon hasnt a clue hes all arms and legs.Also how come we have Jacobs and Weathrall who were both defenders and yet we are very poor in defence.Answer Jacobs hasnt a clue iether.Im all for heros in football but these three are not showing any quality management.But im afraid we are stuck with them for the next three years.Every city fan did want them to do well but its not to be.You have to feel sorry for our fans who have traveled as i have done for the last few away games.Simon Parker got it wrong at Notts County,it was the City fans singing,(we want our money back)Best man on the pitch by far in games has been O'brian and what do they do,drop him at Bournmouth.MMMMMMMM BARRY SAYS USE YOUR HEAD,shame the management dont do the same. Quote"I look after the players".Its time Stuart stopped patting backs and kicked butt instead.
Freddy
says...
9:58pm Tue 17 Mar 09
Bournemouth were fighting for their survival and have reaped another good result. City have no answer to Teams that fight for results in this manner. They will not have answers to Teams fighting for the Play-Off Final either,should they be involved.
Back to the drawing board, and build a new squad, for next Season. Unless anyone knows of an Oil Billionaire, who wants a Second Division Club as a 'Hobby' to play with?.
rio8uk
says...
10:06pm Tue 17 Mar 09
bcfc idle supporters
says...
10:16pm Tue 17 Mar 09
and stuart mccall, and i have to take my hat off the the man. hes so down just like us, and has said that if city are not in the playoffs by the end of the season he will not be manager come end off may. thats his decision not the fans or the board making him choose,
but then, you have to look at the presure on him, i hate to see city lose and have said that stuart and the board should not have promised promotion last season or this season, but they did and thats proberbly the nail in there coffin, before the season even kicked off,
its just a very very bad few weeks that i just want to forget,
so sad,
Spenvalleyspartan
says...
10:21pm Tue 17 Mar 09
frankim
says...
10:28pm Tue 17 Mar 09
We were promised promotion last year, then again this year. I blame the board and the management they should have brought new playes in. I for one will not be going to the matches nest season, and suggest everybody else does the same. This team does not deserve 12,000 plus fans cheering them on every game, they are not fit to play in a sunday league.
Waynus
says...
11:04pm Tue 17 Mar 09
Spenvalleyspartan wrote:Spot on 'Spenvalleyspartan'. This is a point I have been making since December.
As Lawn said we were supposed to have pushed the boat out this season and with McCall at the helm supposed to be out of the division! What a joke! If I was a millionaire I wouldn't give McCall a penny to waste! He doesn't exactly get the best out of what he has! Boulding is a worse player than he was last season! McClaren is just drawing a wage. He has lost the respect of the dressing room. To the players he is just a nice guy like Jacobs and Wethers! He is stubborn and does not learn from his mistakes. He is only in the position that he is in because of sentiment! Had it been another manager he would have gone last year! He is going to be like an anchor weighing us down because he is Stuart McCall the player who was a legend! Wasn't Bremner a legend? Was Bremner a good manager? No! Neither is McCall! Lets put sentiment to one side. After 1 and 3/4 seasons of McCall are we going forward? No! Time to go!
How many times have we seen clubs give these young managers a chance and seen them blow up in their faces? The only difference is, others have had the balls to get rid and start again.
The defence on Saturday was solid. It was a freak goal that blew our chance. The problem was creating opportunities. He brought in Brandon on the left (I still insist he isn't a winger), but dropped O'B. Therefore, Brandon had no support or link up play with the fullback. Surely Brandon would have needed O'B to overlap in his first game for 8 months. Another McCall gaffe.
On Saturday, McCall showed some balls and dropped Clarke (and Baz) for breaching club rules. The defence looked fairly solid and was unlucky with the deflected shot. What does McCall do, he drops O'B, replaces him with Rehman and brings back Calamity Clarke. F#CKING PRICELESS McCALL!!!!
Thorne (who to be honest has been unfit for most of the last 3 months) was out tonight with the stiff neck. It meant we only had one striker available, oh and Baz. Nobody can explain why we have not signed a striker (permanently or) on loan. Our rivals have done just that, with Wycombe buying one for £15k and loaning another. There are loads of other teams too. Only McCall doesn't see the need to sign a striker. WHY????
I also heard his interview on the radio. He said he would walk if we aren't good enough to get into the play-offs. Derm (Tanner) suggested he was saying this in the heat of the moment but McCall confirmed he had built the team and if they failed to get into the play-offs, then he has failed and would walk.
Personally, I think he should have gone a little further. He should have said if we don't get promoted this season, I will walk!!
no glory following city
says...
11:16pm Tue 17 Mar 09
I will be there next season, regardless of which division we are in.
It hurts at the moment 'cos I love my club. But I wont walk out on them 'cos of 1 failure.
Most seasons spent watching city are failures. If it was all about glory I'd be "supporting " leeds or Man Utd!!
Bradford1903
says...
11:39pm Tue 17 Mar 09
I just can't believe that a side with the best squad in the Division, can underperform so much on a regular basis.
I'm afraid the excuses are fast running out for Stuart.
People state that he has no money to spend, but apart from Shrewsbury then neither does anyone else.
Let's not forget that we will also have one of the biggest, if not the biggest wage bills in the Division.
And please don't go on about Stuart's inexperience, this doesn't seem to be a problem for Howe, who looks like he's going to keep his Bournemouth side up, despite looking doomed a few weeks ago.
Some of the most successful clubs currently in the lower leagues, have managers that are less experienced as Stuart, such as Scott at Brentford, Di Matteo at MK Dons, and Martinez at Swansea. They also wouldn't have had an apprenticeship working with someone of the knowledge of Warnock.
Stuart will always be a legend to me, irrespective of what he does as a manager, but I am starting to lose all confidence in him.
I respect his comments saying he will leave if we fail to get in the play offs, and there is an article about this on the BBC website.
I do however agree with the comment from Waynus. If we don't get promotion, then over two seasons stuck in what is a very mediocre League, is not good enough, and he will have to go, even if we do get in the play offs.
We can still get promotion, and the next few weeks are the acid test for Stuart as a manager, let's hope it's the making of him. I wish him the best of luck.
dannbradfc
says...
11:42pm Tue 17 Mar 09
WE all know we should just pick our best suited 11 in a regular formation (that way everyone including subs etc know what they are doing). these players are clearly not up to swapping things around. And where as Brandon suddenly justified a first team spot from? he hardly featured in last three games yet is now good and fit enough to start. These are all mistakes in my book. by not signing 2 not 1 (although at least that would have been better) strikers earlier in the season i.e. after Topp left, we have been left in this position.
STU stop picking teams based on other sides stats etc and stop scaring our players to death by essentially bigging up the opposition. THIS is division 4 football not Benetez, Mourinho etc chess and mind games.
I'm sticking with you Stu but you need to open your eyes and hears 'cos at the mo its the fans who seem to have the better picture of the way forward
Goose1975
says...
11:58pm Tue 17 Mar 09
S/W:- past-walk how apt, hope not
Lees
says...
7:33am Wed 18 Mar 09
macca1969 wrote:Get a couple of strikers in McCall or we have no chance of the playoffs! Been telling your this since the first time I set eyes on Conlon, never a profesional striker for BCFC in a million years. thorne to old and injury prone, Boulding weak without a good presence near him... which he ain't had all season!!
Its not only stuart i've lost faith with its the bunch of useless so called professionals we are supporting.They are sh!t.I for one if i can stomach going on sat will be letting baz and clarke know exactly how i feel and if you don't like the boo boys mcall put ya ear plugs in cos i pay for my season ticket and have a right to boo who i want.In my eyes they are no longer city players so its justifyed
Come on get with the picture and sign at least 1 striker!
spleen ventor
says...
7:46am Wed 18 Mar 09
Rehman is an international central deffender not a left back, so what does McCall do?...changes it all round to accomodate calamity Clarke, dropping O'Brien in the process...hopeless!
I don't even think we'll make the play offs now, we'll have to win all our home games to stand any chance and I can see our mid-recent (last six years) home form coming back to betray us at least once before the season is out, cue mass booing!
I'm afraid another season of 4th division football awaits but all is not lost, if the standard of this league depreciates by the same amount next season we should be able to get 11 out of the Corn Dolly good enough to go up next year.
Spenvalleyspartan
says...
8:15am Wed 18 Mar 09
shaun from richmond
says...
8:52am Wed 18 Mar 09
bcfc idle supporters wrote:Hang on!! What pressure?? This is a bloke that doesnt need to work to earn a living. Hes had 2 seasons, with every supporter willing him on, hes brought his own players in, his own coaching staff in. Hes got record crowds turning up at home, amazing away support, and directors who cant give him a long enough contract!!
just listening to bantams world, and stuart mccall, and i have to take my hat off the the man. hes so down just like us, and has said that if city are not in the playoffs by the end of the season he will not be manager come end off may. thats his decision not the fans or the board making him choose, but then, you have to look at the presure on him, i hate to see city lose and have said that stuart and the board should not have promised promotion last season or this season, but they did and thats proberbly the nail in there coffin, before the season even kicked off, its just a very very bad few weeks that i just want to forget, so sad,
As for the "hes so down" bit....Hes down because he knows the above is true and he cant do the job!!
s.b.c
says...
9:26am Wed 18 Mar 09
no glory following city wrote:LEEDS ????
For those people that say they wont come back to VP next season if we dont get promoted. Goodbye!!
I will be there next season, regardless of which division we are in.
It hurts at the moment 'cos I love my club. But I wont walk out on them 'cos of 1 failure.
Most seasons spent watching city are failures. If it was all about glory I'd be "supporting " leeds or Man Utd!!
tyker
says...
9:29am Wed 18 Mar 09
How must OB be feeling:our best player this season thrown out to accommodate a boozy centre half and to be replaced by a right sided defender. The whole balance of the team was wrong, very wrong and any half with of a manager could see it!!
strange decisions and stranger things to come: I hope the coach trip home was tee total only and that it was a somber afair!!
Windyass says...
9:45pm Tue 17 Mar 09
Roll on Saturday. :-)